For a Yorktown family, Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters a lifesaver — twice over

Sydney Harris,11, celebrates three years of being "cancer-free" this weekend. Her brother, Joshua, 16, can make the same claim for six years. Both were treated atChildren's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, which sees 500 pediatric cancer patients annually.

On Friday, the Harris' stories will be part of the CHKD radiothon, conducted on site in the hospital's lobby, to raise funds for the cancer program at the region's only freestanding children's hospital.

Lightning isn't supposed to strike twice, but Ken and Leslie Harris of Yorktown, have endured two months-long battles against unrelated cancers in two of their three children since 2005.

Their trips to CHKD started In February 2005, when their oldest son was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Joshua started treatment immediately with four cycles of chemotherapy, spending the first few days as an inpatient each time. Often he would run a fever and suffer from neutropenia, a low white blood cell count, and have to spend additional days in the hospital. "At first we both stayed with him," says Leslie, noting that they were lucky to have the flexibility to do so. "For some families it means someone giving up a job or taking a leave of absence. It's really tough on them."

This was followed by 28 daily doses of radiation — half to his chest and abdomen and half to his neck area — with a three-week break in between. By August 2005, Joshua's treatment was complete and he has never had a relapse. However, it affected his thyroid and he now takes medication for that.

The Harrises had a 3-year reprieve, until October 2008, when Sydney, then 7, developed flu-like symptoms. At first her pediatrician thought it was a virus; when it persisted he prescribed antibiotics. After another few days he did blood tests, which came back normal. The next week he repeated the blood work and one test showed an elevated count but still didn't indicate cancer. "She would spike a fever of 102 degrees every evening between 7 and 8 p.m. It went on for over three weeks," says Leslie. Her daughter was then referred to an infectious disease specialist at CHKD who ordered a CT scan of her abdomen. The radiologist thought it might be cancer but couldn't be sure. A second CT scan showed "a huge mass in her left lung, nodules in both lungs, and a lesion on her liver." Still, there was no definitive diagnosis. Radiologists at other hospitals couldn't identify the disease either.

Friends and family kept urging the Harrises to take Sydney to Duke or St. Jude's. "We didn't need to. We have what we need right here," Leslie says, crediting the hospital's team approach and willingness to seek answers from specialists all over the country.

She recalls how the family met with oncologist William Owen, who had been Joshua's doctor. "He lost just as much sleep as we did. He knew she was sick, knew she needed treatment. … He gave me his personal phone number and I would call him at all hours and on the weekends asking him if it could be this or that." He took a biopsy of the lung and sent specimens to UVA and to Boston Mass, where — after more than two weeks — a world expert in lymphoma identified Sydney's disease as a brand new type, only recently recognized by the Centers for Disease Control. The family calls it "the mutt lymphoma" as the cancer cells combine non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with characteristics of classic Hodgkin's lymphoma.

With the help of Eric Lowe, an oncologist from St. Jude's who serves on a national board for pediatric lymphoma, Owen then created a protocol for her treatment. "There was no research on this, no previous protocol," says Leslie. Owen prepared the family for a tough fight. Sydney had eight cycles of chemo with twice as many drugs as Joshua, some sent directly into the spinal cord. "She'd kind of feel 'icky' but she never got sick. It wasn't like what you see on TV with someone heaving over a bucket," says Leslie. However, Sydney too suffered from neutropenia and often spent 15 or 16 days of her 21-day treatment cycles in the hospital accompanied by at least one of her parents.

And, not to be left out, younger brother Patrick, then 6, was rushed to CHKD for an appendectomy during her treatment. Leslie, who was getting ready to return home, just stayed another night in the hospital, sending Sydney home with her dad, Ken.

"Wave Goodbye to Kids Cancer"

DJs from FM 92.9, "The Wave," will be broadcasting live from the CHKD lobby, 601 Children's Lane, Norfolk, on June 1 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., telling patients' stories and encouraging people to call in donations. All donations will be used to support CHKD's cancer program — for patient care, life-saving equipment and to support cancer research.